The publication of a photograph of the 13-year-old rape victim at the centre of the abortion controversy has been severely criticised the Rape Crisis Centre. "We go to great lengths to ensure the anonymity of a victim in any criminal case and I think it's appalling to think that this child's anonymity has been broken. In years to come, she may greatly regret this and it will be too late," said Ms Olive Braiden, director of the Rape Crisis Centre.
"She is, after all, just a child. An adult can choose what to do, but a child does not have the maturity to do that. It is a long and harrowing road ahead for this girl, without people knowing her. She needs to recover from this in private."
An interview with the teenager in the Star and an accompanying picture in which her eyes were covered was described by the antiabortion group, Youth Defence, as "a new low in Irish journalism".
The editor of the Star, Mr Gerry O'Regan, said the purpose of the article, which appeared on Saturday, had been to highlight the views of the victim and he stressed that the standard procedure had been taken to ensure her identity was safeguarded.
He said that the newspaper had been given the full co-operation of the girl and her foster-parents and that the overall purpose of the story had been to focus on the views of the rape victim.
He said that for the first time in public the girl had stated that she would have been suicidal if she had been prevented from terminating the pregnancy and had also complained about the behaviour of Youth Defence.
"It is very much about a real-life flesh and blood 13-year-old girl and a lot of people would have been stopped in their tracks and realised that this was a young girl who was actually raped" said Mr O'Regan.
A spokeswoman for the Eastern Health Board said the interview with the girl had been conducted without its knowledge or authority.